Property developers in China experiencing financial difficulties have recently started accepting payments for housing in the form of watermelons, peaches, garlic, grain and other agricultural products, state media reported. The builders are doing this to lure buyers who are deterred by a slumping Chinese housing market.
The real estate market has been hit by a cooling economy and a debt crisis. This has arisen because builders are no longer allowed to ask for down payments from the government before the construction of a project starts.
A developer in the eastern city of Nanjing accepts truckloads of watermelons worth up to 100,000 yuan (more than $14,000) as payment from local farmers, state media reports China News Weekly† In nearby Wuxi, a developer accepted peaches as payment, the magazine reports.
Home buyers in the Qi region, a major garlic-producing area in central China’s Henan province, can trade in their products at three times the market price to pay part of their down payment. “On the occasion of the new garlic season, the company has made a firm decision to favor garlic farmers in Qi,” homebuilder Central China Management said on social media. “We love helping the farmers and making it easier for them to buy houses.” Since the start of the garlic campaign, about thirty houses have been sold, according to the company.
Home sales in China have fallen for 11 straight months, falling 31.5 percent in May from the same month last year, official statistics show.